The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office is offering free, no-questions-asked rides home for parish residents who have been drinking alcohol during the holiday season. The program, which the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said is in its 29th year, started at Thanksgiving and will run through New Year's.

Residents who have been drinking can call 504.271.2501 and a deputy will pick them up and drive them home. If they live outside the parish, the deputy will drive them to a sheriff's substation where they can make arrangements for transportation home, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

The program runs through Jan. 2.

While deputies typically don't get pressed into heavy-duty driving service -- about 20 people seek a ride each year -- Sheriff James Pohlmann said it is a service his department is happy to offer.

Pohlmann said the Sheriff's Office publicizes the program each year in an effort to remove temptation motorists might have to drive after having too much to drink.

For those who still opt to drive drunk, the Sheriff's Office will work with State Police to patrol for drunken drivers and set up drunk driving checkpoints, the Sheriff's Office said.

"So, it's really an easy choice to make for a St. Bernard resident who has been drinking during the holiday season," Pohlmann said.

Started in 1984 under former Sheriff Jack Stephens, the free ride program has since spread, and other law enforcement jurisdictions across the metro New Orleans area offer the same service.